The Pink Suede Elephant In The Room

By Taryn "The Coop" Cooper
Posted Monday, March 17, 2008

"Let me tell you this: Without Santana, we felt as a team we have a chance to win in our division. With him now, I have no doubt that we’re going to win in our division. I have no doubt in that. We’ve got what it takes. We have good chemistry as a team. He fits great because he’s a great guy. He’s one of the best pitchers in the game. Who doesn’t want to have him on any ballclub? Without him last year we did good until the end of the season. So this year, to Jimmy Rollins, we are the team to beat.” - Carlos Beltran, New York Mets (italics are Coop’s)

Is this quote supposed to set the tone for the 2008 season?

Now, we all know, the only time Carlos Beltran seems to speak up is when he is slumping, looks bad and then – surprise surprise surprise – he brings up some ailment that seems to hit him when the team needs him most. Of course, he could just chalk it up to simple slumps here and there like normal players do, but hey…he’s hurt. Poor widdle $119 million man. But I digress. The fact that he’s spoken some fightin’ words, and even got Jimmy Rollins’ attention…well let’s say, that although I didn’t think he was 100% deserving of it, Rollins put his MVP where his mouth was and carried his team on his back. My point is…If Beltran says these words prior to even putting on his cleats and playing an exhibition game in March, isn’t that a little much?

Someone must have confidence…otherwise, or just ignoring the larger issue of…

Why hasn’t anyone mentioned the collapse?

The issue I have with Beltran’s quote is – are the Mets truly the team to beat in 2008? Were they truly that good until the end of the 2007 season, Carlos? I’m sure many reporters and fans would disagree – they were decent, at the very best, and bored and boring at the very least. When Carlos Delgado, leader figure-head, says, “We’ve got so much talent, I think sometimes we get bored,” well, I cannot be the only who sees a problem with that.

So touching on Beltran’s quote – is there good chemistry as a team?

Wouldn’t you think that with good chemistry in 2007, the team would have operated more like it did in 2006?

So what about the collapse?

I think there are a few reasons why the “collapse” hasn’t been mentioned.

One is – if you ignore it, it will go away.

Two is – that book, The Secret. The principle and message of the book is that if you harp on something negative, it will amplify and ultimately overrun your life. Players are apparently gravitating towards this message and by stating something like – we are the team to beat – is basically saying, we will win. Just be careful though – ever since Mark Messier predicted the Rangers would win Game 6 in the 1994 Eastern Conference finals and scored a hat trick to back it up, no one in New York has been able to successfully predict a win since.

Three is – believe me, they think about it. But if it was all they thought about, not much progress would be done.

So now what? I would gather that the collapse is going to be in the back of the team’s mind…waaaaay in the back of the collective minds of the players. Save some of the core players like David Wright, Carlos Beltran and Jose Reyes, the team dynamic has switched somewhat.

Luis Castillo is the new second baseman. Carlos Delgado may start the season injured, so this may mean new blood like Angel Pagan or a trade.

Pedro is back for a full season. Johan Santana easily replaces the gap left behind by wolf-in-Braves' clothing Tom Glavine, plus with the emergence of John Maine as young ace-in-the-making, the pitching staff is totally different, though again the core remains the same.

Ranting Paul LoDuca is replaced by Brian Schneider. Ryan Church is playing right field. Moises Alou is back in left, but he was gone 2/3 of last season, it was almost like he starts anew-Alou.

Guillermo Mota is gone. Schoeneweis, Heilman and Wagner stay, with the return of Duaner Sanchez weighing heavily on the minds of players and fans.

So what’s my point? The core may be the same, but players who were not remotely involved in the ”collapse” really can’t think of it, since they were not there. Plus, the guys who were involved do NOT want it to happen again.

I know, it’s a bit naive, but then again, so is asking the universe for what you want and expecting to get it automatically.

So when you see that big pink elephant over in the picnic area in 2008, tell him The Coop says hello, and that she has some peanuts for him.